RavePittsburgh Post-GazetteAriel Sabar takes the reader on a tour de force of investigative journalism to uncover the \'fake news\' in a story that shook both the faithful as well as the academy ... a page-turner. Mr. Sabar brilliantly presents the story as a murder mystery, uncovering new forensic evidence in each chapter. The book is enhanced by his ability to familiarize himself with the background—ancient Gnostic teachings, the science of dating manuscripts, the black market in antiquities, and the \'politics\' of the relevant fields in the academy ... Mr. Sabar’s book is a model on how to investigate any new \'discoveries\' from ancient texts. It is also a cautionary tale about the acceptance of experts and expertise at face value.
Bob D. Ehrman
MixedThe Pittsburgh Post-GazzetteThis survey does contribute to the subject by chronicling the later history of the Empire and the complexity of historical change. Retrospection, however, contains pitfalls. The very word 'triumph' assumes a deficit and so we are challenged to identify it. The overall impression from a scholar who, by the way is a professed atheist, remains the traditional conclusion that Christianity triumphed because it was spiritually superior.
